By Steve Collins | Board president and co-founder
This is a difficult time for journalists old and young. It’s an especially challenging moment for Youth Journalism International in its quest to empower young writers and photographers to stand up for the principles and values of a profession that’s under fire. They notice when leaders call journalists “scum” and smear individual reporters for doing their job. They see that far too many of the people they respect and love are ready to believe quacks who make up news stories rather than accept the truth that professional journalists work hard to uncover. They know that they’re eyeing a career in a field that is struggling everywhere.
And yet there is still something noble about the mission “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” that has driven the best journalists for generations. That idealism can still move people. And the work it produces can still make a difference. So we soldier on, teaching and empowering young people in scores of countries to develop their skills and tell their stories. They learn in the process that their voice matters, that every person, everywhere, has something to say that’s worthwhile. As one of our students, a young woman in Pakistan, put it, “YJI made me realize that I am not made for nothing. Today I know that I AM something.”
We appreciate your willingness to help Youth Journalism International with its crucial work.
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